Method of and apparatus for developing rolls of film



July l, 1969 M` F. sHAPlRo ET Al. 3,452,664

I l METHOD OF AND APPARATUS'FOR DEVELOPING ROLLS OF FILM Filed June 24. 1966 INVENTORS. M/CHA a 'A s/Ap/Ro y BY @Aaa/EK/Rs/fe/vAl/m United States Patent O U.s. Cl. 95-9'05 3 claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Portable apparatus for developing rolls of film comprising a plastic rod of rectangular cross-section and a cylindrical chamber closed at one end for receiving the rod with an unrolled roll of film extended about the rod with no portion of the lm touching another portion of the film. The film is disposed adjacent opposite surfaces of the rod with its emulsion coating facing away from the rod and passes through a U-shaped channel at the end of the rod disposed adjacent the bottom of the chamber. The other side Walls of the rod have indents thereon for indicating where the ends of the roll of film should be placed along the rod. The chamber has an inner diameter such that the extended film engages the chamber inner wall only along the film edges thereby preventing the emulsion coating from contacting the inner wall.

This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for developing film, and more particularly to a method of developing rolls of film as quickly as possible after the film has been exposed and portable apparatus for developing rolls of film.

Since film tends to spoil easily after exposure, especially in a warm climate, various types of portable equipment for developing rolls of film are presently available. Such equipment is usually used for the smaller film sizes. One known type of portable developing equipment consists of a plastic tank and a pair of circular disks which fit snugly in the tank. Each disk has a spiraling shaped groove which grooves cooperate to form a track onto which a roll of film can be threaded. A stirrer is provided for rotating the disks while the film is held between the disks to aid in processing the film. This equipment is fairly expensive and requires a fairly large amount of materials to develop each roll of film. In fact, these tanks require about a pint of developer and a pint of fixing solution in order to immerse and process a roll ofV film. The tanks are usually made of Bakelite (registered trademark) or similar material which tends to break or crack easily if it is accidently dropped. The main disadvantage of these tanks resides in the fact that it is fairly difficult to insert a roll of film between the disks since it must be fitted between the disks and then slid entirely along the spiral grooves which grip only the edges of the filin. Of course, this entire operation must be effected in the absence of light. Once inserted, the adjacent layers of film often adhere to one another and the film is spoiled at those areas.

It is an object of our invention to provide inexpensive apparatus for developing rolls of film.

It is another object of our invention to provide a simple to perform method for developing rolls of film.

It is still another object of our invention to provide apparatus for developing rolls of film which is simple to use and requires very little developing and fixing solutions.

It is a feature of our invention that we provide an easy to perform method of developing film in which the steps of preparing a roll of film for processing includes disposing the film about an elongated member so that rice no portion of the film contacts another portion and maintaining the film in substantially its extended configuration throughout the developing process.

Another feature of our invention is the provision of a novel elongated member about which a roll of film can be rapidly and easily positioned so that no portion of the film touches another portion of the film.

Still another feature of our invention resides in the provision of apparatus for developing rolls of film comprising an elongated member or rod about which a roll of film can be positioned, and a cylindrical chamber dimentioned to retain the rod and lm during processing, which processing may include rapidly vibrating the chamber, so that no portion of the film contacts another portion of the film. Only the edges of the film tend to contact the inner Wall of the chamber but even this contact is bufied by the solution in the chamber. Also, due to the tendency of the film to roll up, it does not adhere to the rod, other than at its ends, during such processing. Finally, the portion of the film disposed adjacent the bottom of the container normally has a film of solution disposed between it and the bottom.

The above-mentioned and other features and objects of our invention will become more apparent by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE l is a perspective cross-sectional view of a portable container for developing a roll of -film in accordance with our invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a rod in accordance with our invention for maintaining the film in a desired configuration within our container;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a rod having film disposed thereabout in accordance with the method of one invention;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view of a rod disposed in another embodiment of a container in accordance with our invention with one-half of the container removed;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view of a rod disposed in the container of FIGURE l in accordance with the method of our invention;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged end view of a rod loaded in accordance with our invention and having its ends removed for the sake of clarity; and,

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of a rod in accordance with our invention comprising clips.

Referring now to the drawings, a container or tube 1 is shown in cross-section in FIGURE l. Tube 1 can be made of any opaque material which will not react with the developing solutions. In the illustrated embodiment, tube 1 is made of an unbreakable plastic material.

A cap 2 is provided for sealing tube 1 at one end to form a chamber open at one end for processing the film. Means such as funnel 3 can be used to deliver fluids into the container. In fact, we have found that the funnel need not be removed when developing the film as long as the top of the funnel is not exposed to direct light.

In order to insert a roll of film into the container so that no portion of the film touches another portion of the film, an elongated member, such as rectangularly cross-sectioned rod 4 shown in FIGURE 2, is provided. The rod is also preferably composed of plastic. Of course, this rod may comprise any material which is not affected by chemicals used in the developing and fixing of film. In a preferred embodiment of our invention, rod 4 is provided with lateral extensions or guides 5 and 6 which cooperate to define a U-shaped channel 7 for guiding a roll of film about the rod.

The guides 5 and 6 may form a U-shaped channel 7 for receiving a desired Width film. If it is desired to use the member 4 with more than one size Width of film, than the bottom of the rod may comprise stepped lateral extensions which cooperate to form a series of U-'shaped channels of diminishing size from the bottom of the rod towards the top thereof. The steps could be so chosen as to accommodate desired widths of film.

Notches 8 and 9 may also be provided on rod 4 as a means for indicating where the beginning of a particular sized roll of film should be positioned during processing. Additional notches may be provided for different lengths of film.

The method of developing film in accordance with our invention basically includes the steps of disposing a roll of film about an elongated member so that the film is extended and no portion of the film touches another portion, and maintaining the film in substantially its extended position during processing of the film which processing may include agitating the developing solutions, rod, and film.

The method of our invention will now be explained with reference to FIGURES 3-5 in which our method is illustrated as utilizing certain preferred embodiments of our apparatus for developing rolls of film.

The roll of film 10 to be developed is removed from the camera and its casing and is placed about rod 4 without exposing the film to light. The step of positioning the film about the rod can be easily performed by placing a first end 11 of the film against the longer side surface of the rectangular cross-sectioned rod with the emulsion side 12 facing away from the rod. This end can be easily positioned by Ifeeling for notches 8 and 9 which indicate the approximate starting and ending positions of the extended film.

While securely holding the rod and one end of the film in place with one hand, the roll of film is unrolled with the other hand and guided downwards along the rod, between guides and 6, and then upwards till it is fully extended. Now the rod and end of the film are gripped between the thumb and forefinger and inserted as a unit into tube 1 which has been closed at one end. Next the funnel is placed in the upper end of the tube. The film can now be processed in the light as long as the top of the funnel is not exposed to a strong direct light.

The above steps can easily be performed in a photographers bag. The processing steps include: first pouring a few ounces of developer into the tube and agitating the tube for the required developing time; then pouring out the developing solution and pouring in water to rinse the chamber and film; next pouring in a few ounces of fixing solution and agitating for the time required to fix the film, after which the fixing solution is poured out; and then rinsing the developed film.

If a container such as il shown in FIGURE 4 is used which has a closed end 13, then a rod 4' having clips 14 and 1S is preferable so that the film will come out of the chamber with the rod, when it is withdrawn from the open end. The clips should be so positioned, or capable of adjustment to a position, so that the film ends are securely gripped while the film is loosely held so that it is not against the sides of the rod.

After the processing steps noted above, cap 2 is removed and the rod slides out easily bringing the developed film with it. If possible, it is preferable to now soak the film well and then hang it up to dry while it is properly weighted (paper clip, etc.), so that it remains substantially extended.

, Extremely small amounts of solutions are needed to develop a roll of film utilizing the apparatus of our invention. For examplet, we have found that to develop a nine-millimeter roll of lfilm, a tube approximately 16 inches long can be used with a l5 inch rod. The inner diameter of the tube should be approximately 5%; of an inch. The rectangular cross-section of the rod should have 1/2 and 1A" sides. Using this equipment, a nine mm. roll of film can be processed using about two ounces of developing solution and two younces of fixing solution. Two ounce bottles containing the solutions can be easily carried with the rest of the apparatus. Water can also be stored in such bottles or a canteen will be satisfactory.

In FIGURE 5 it can be seen that the film 10 only touches the rod at its ends and at the edges of channel 7. In FIGURE 6- it can be seen that film 10 only touches the inner wall of the cylindrical chamber at its corners without harming the pictures to be developed. In fact, we have often inserted a second cap 2 on top of tube 1 after each solution is poured in and shook the container in an up and down motion so that the rod reciprocated from end to end and the film has not been spoiled.

While we have described above the principles of our invention in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of our invention, as set forth in the objects thereof and in the accompanying claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for developing rolls of film comprising a rod having a generally rectangular cross section, at least one pair of the opposite side lwalls of the rod being of a width which is greater than the width of the film to be developed, said rod being of a length which is not less than -one-half the length of the film to be developed nor more than the total length of the said film, said rod consisting of a material which will not react with or be affected by the chemicals used in developing the film, said rod having a U-shaped channel at one end which opens through said one pair of opposite side walls and is of a width at least equal to the width of the film to be developed and of a depth permitting the film to be fully received therein, a cylindrical chamber adapted to be closed at least one end during developing of a roll lof film, the inner surfaces at least of said chamber consisting of a material which will not react with or be affected by the chemicals used in developing the film, said chamber being of a length and having an inner diameter such that it is adapted to receive said rod with its said one end adjacent the chamber closed end with an unrolled roll of film extended about said rod with its emulsion coating facing away from the rod and said lm being disposed adjacent said one pair of opposite side twalls and passing through said U-shaped channel so that no portion of the film engages another portion thereof, the said inner diameter of said chamber being such that only the edges of the extended film will engage the inner wall of the chamber to thereby prevent the emulsion coating from contacting said inner wall, and the rod comprises identations in its other pair of opposite side walls for indicating where the ends o-f a roll of film should be disposed when the film is extended about the rod.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rod is made of a plastic material.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cylindrical chamber comprises a plastic tube.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,465,777 3/ 1949 Young 95--100 2,465,877 3/1949 Hubbard 95-90.5 2,638,829 5/1953 Singer e 95-90.5 XR 7/ 1959 Blatherwick 88--24 XR NORTON ANSI-IER, Primary Examiner.

FRED L. BRAUN, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. --100 

